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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. charge — in control
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. march — music
  5. charge — electricity
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. perch — the fish
  9. cold — not warm
  10. charge — a price
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. sharp — clever
  14. cold — an illness
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. scale — size or range
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. march — the month
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. scale — in music
  24. march — the month

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com